§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Industry if he is yet in a position to make a further statement on the splitting of the Post Office into separate businesses.
§ Mr. Michael MarshallThere is nothing I can add to the reply given by my right hon. Friend to my hon. Friend the Member for Harrow, East (Mr. Dykes) on 21 November—[Vol. 974, c.247].
§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Industry what account he has taken of the memorandum from the 360W Post Office Engineering Union on the structure of the Post Office; what discussions he has had with the union; what reply he has sent; and if he will publish this in the Official Report.
§ Mr. Michael MarshallThe memorandum submitted to my right hon. Friend at his request in June last year formed the basis of a full discussion between the union and my hon. Friend the Minister of State. There was therefore no need for a substantive reply. The views of the union and of the other interested parties were taken fully into account in reaching our decision to create a new corporation to run the post office telecommunications business.